After the Woodcock Storm

On Saturday, I couldn’t help flushing more than two dozen “mud bats,” or American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), in Green-Wood Cemetery during an hour’s walk. On Sunday, although we spent nearly three hours there and covered a much greater extent of the grounds, we only only found three. One of them, though, allowed us to observe it closely. We were walking down slope, and I just happened to glance to the right: the bird was less than a dozen feet away and it did not rocket away as they often do when stumbled upon. The second of the day was nearby and it shot up and took off with the whistling sound they make when flying while we were photographing this one.

It’s election day. Very low turnouts are expected in New York and New Jersey. Democracy dies locally.